The Bullet
by THBunny
Summary: The Takahashi Family lets their main supplier's niece to stay with them while she studies. She catches Ryosuke's eye... what's next? R&R please
1. Prologue I and II

The bullet

Prologue I: Takumi's surprise

Top of MT. Akina 4:15 AM. Takumi had finished his delivery and was now heading home. The downhill drive to get back home was

the best thing in the world for him: he could almost feel the comfort of his bed. Even though his retarded father made him take the gc8v,

he was still going all out, as usual, but still felt the slight discomfort of driving this car, which completely turned him off.

As he was driving, chasing different lines, he noticed two headlights in his rear view mirror getting closer to him at an unthinkable rate.

As he focused on the lights shape to try to figure out which car it was, the fact that he was driving another car than his own slipped his

mind. As the other car was getting closer, he recognised the familiar shape of the car. "It must be that idiotic father of mine" he thought,

noticing that the car was a gc8v. As he downshifted, tackling a hairpin, he suddenly felt his blood freezing. "It's not my father, I'm in the

gc8v …" he though again. At that precise moment, the other car passed him, taking those hairpins as though they were nothing. Takumi

noticed that the back of that car was debadged and that it's colour was gunmetal. It was in all points identical to Bunta's.

Takumi: Who is this guy?

He arrived home still under shock. This stranger just assed him so easily, and there was nothing He could have done to stop him. Now

he knew of two people who beat him on Akina: his own dad, and this mystery guy. Both of them driving the same car. As he entered his

room, tak felt all the tiredness he was feeling in the car had faded away. That night, Takumi got little to no sleep.

Prologue II: Dinner for six at seven

Ryosuke stepped into the kitchen where both his parents were already sitting, having breakfast together.

Ryosuke: Good morning!

Mrs: Takahashi: Good morning Ryosuke. Coffee or tea this morning?

Ryosuke: Coffee please mom. Thank you.

Ryosuke was quite amazed: his mother had stopped asking him what he wanted in the morning since he was 12 years old, which was

when he started helping himself anyway. He guessed his parents had something to ask him.

Dr. Takahashi: Son, have you got any plans tonight? Project D? Studying?

Ryosuke: Tonight, after studying Keisuke and I were going to go do some tuning and testing on Akagi.

"Odd" thought Ryosuke, "He doesn't normally care about D"

Dr. Takahashi: I need both your brother and you to be here tonight for dinner. We have some special guests at 7 o' clock.

Ryosuke: Who?

Dr. Takahashi: One of our most important suppliers from Europe as well as his niece. He came up with a new electro-cardiogram machine that is very interesting for the hospital.

Ryosuke thought it was pretty odd for a supplier to bring his niece, unless of course she had also worked on that machine.

Ryosuke: What is this supplier's name?

Dr. Takahashi: Dr. Giuseppe Rinaldi.

The name rang a bell. He was a brilliant physician until he decided to deal in medical diagnosis machines. Ryosuke then finished his

coffee and said goodbye to his parents promising that both him and his little brother were going to be there for dinner. He then grabbed

his school things and took off.

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this is my first ever fan fiction. wish me luck, I'll need it. LOL

**Disclamer:** I don't own initial D, I would never consider proclaiming it's mine, for it's really not.. However, I own Sara'a character and Mafia the pug. LOL. Don't sue, there's no point.


	2. Breaking News

Chapter I: Breaking news.

It was a little after 7 o' clock when the Takahashi guests finally arrived.

Dr. Rinaldi: Excuse us for being late. Us Europeans are known for our great lack of punctuality. This is my niece, Sara Puzzo.

Dr. Takahashi: I am very honoured to meet you Sara-chan.

Sara: All the pleasure is mine.

Mrs. Takahashi: Please, come to the living room so we can speak more comfortably, make yourselves at home.

As Dr. Takahashi lead the way for Dr. Rinaldi and Sara, Mrs. Takahashi called both of her sons to come down and meet their guests. A

few seconds later, the legendary brothers made their appearance in the living room and saw the two foreign guests sitting down on their

couch. The brothers sat down as well and Ryosuke started looking at his parent's guests. Dr. Rinaldi was a man in his mid-forties with

salt and pepper hair and blue eyes. He looked tired, probably form all the time and thinking he invested making his diagnosis machines

as accurate as possible. Sara, on the other hand, was this gorgeous young woman with long black hair and a blonde streak in the front.

She had huge hazel eyes and was rather petite.

Dr. Takahashi: Ryosuke, Keisuke, I have the pleasure of introducing you to Dr. Rinaldi. He is a great inventor and is respected by physicians in the whole wide world. And this lovely young woman is his niece, Sara Puzzo.

As the brothers were shaking hands with their parents guests, Ryosuke dropped the idea that Sara had anything to do with the electro-

cardiogram machine: she was far too young to even have a doctorate in medicine, let alone have had enough experience to have actually

helped perfection one. The Takahashis and Sara's uncle started talking about business, the two brothers and the young woman started

their own conversation.

Keisuke: So tell us a bit about yourself Sara-Chan. What do you do in life?

Sara: Well… I have just finished real estate school and I came here to start studies in law.

Ryosuke: Wow! You're coming from quite far just to study law. Puzzo… isn't that an Italian name?

Sara: It is, but unlike my uncle, I don't reside in Italy. I was born and raised in Canada. I know it's even further away from here but I have always wanted to live here for a couple of years. I fell in love with Japan the first time my uncle took me here when I was a little girl.

Mrs Takahashi then proposed to move on to the dinning room. As everybody was sitting down, the lady of the house acted like a

wonderful hostess and was pouring soup in bowls. She told the story of how her great grandmother invented the recipe for it, and to

enjoy it now because it can't be found anywhere else in the world. Once her story was finished, her husband cleared his throat and

straightened his body. Ryosuke knew that it meant he was going to announce something.

Dr. Takahashi: My sons, I am not sure if you were told that Sara-Chan will be studying law here at Akagi's university, same school as Ryosuke. I am happy to announce that her uncle and I have made arrangements for her to live here while she'll attend school.

Sara jumped. So did Keisuke and Ryosuke.

Sara: But zio! I thought I was getting my own apartment so I could have Mafia with me!

Dr. Rinaldi: It's a matter of security. I know that if you live here nothing will happen to you. A young lady living in a country that's new to her is an easy target you know. Your mother will kill me if anything happens to you.

Sara: Granted. But what about my little dog?

Dr. Takahashi: The dog is welcome as long as you take care of it.

Keisuke: Wait a second… I have some trouble processing the …

His father cut him off.

Dr: Takahashi: That isn't anything new, Keisuke.

Ryosuke knew his brother didn't appreciate that comment. Poor Keisuke. His parents didn't approve of anything he ever did or said.

Sara: Zio, was this decision taken just now?

Dr: Rinaldi: No. Dr. Takahashi and I are old friends. He called me for the machine two weeks ago and I told him about you and how we were looking for an apartments for you. I asked him if he knew any safe neighbourhoods and he offered to take you in. You're very lucky.

Sara: Why didn't you tell me before?

Dr. Rinaldi: To surprise you. You'll move in two days from now. Your mother already knows and she's thrilled that you won't have to live by yourself.

Ryosuke didn't know what to think. In a way he was happy: a beautiful girl was going to live in the same house as him. He normally

can't stand them because when they look that good, they're normally airheads, but form the studies she was doing, she couldn't be one.

On the other side, it was going to be a drastic change for him and his brother to adapt to.

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I apreciate all constructive feed back and reviews and I thank you for reading.


	3. Living with a pin up?

Chapter II: Living with a pin-up?

Right after Sara and her uncle left, the Takahashi brothers were getting ready to leave for MT. Akagi. They both seemed to be pondering

upon the girl that would soon live in their home. Ryosuke decided that staying off the subject would be in his best interest. He didn't

know why he felt that way; she seemed to have woken up something in Ryosuke he didn't want and couldn't explain how the heck she

did it. She was still so mysterious… her eyes were so mysterious.

Keisuke: What do you think Aniki?

Ryosuke: Think about what?

Keisuke: The girl, Aniki, the girl!

_Damn… trying to avoid subjects work with Fujiwara, but not with my brother_ Ryosuke thought.

Ryosuke: Can't be so bad. It won't make that much of a difference. See it as though our parents just adopted a little sister for us.

Keisuke started giggling

Keisuke: What do you think about her?

Ryosuke: Nothing. I don't know her, therefore I cannot judge her. She seems very nice and intelligent, yet I can't seem to understand why she'd come all the way to Japan from Canada just to study law.

Keisuke: She most probably has her reasons. Gees! Listen to me, I'm starting to sound like you.

Keisuke stared giggling.

Keisuke: She's something though

Ryosuke: What do you mean?

Keisuke: Our "little sister"is more than good looking: she's freaking drop dead gorgeous. She could be a model… no! A pin-up! We'll be living with a pin-up! If you tell me you disagree, I'll kick your ass!

Hearing that made Ryosuke freeze. He noticed how pretty Sara was. It would have taken an idiotic moron from hell to deny what his

brother was saying. She was so beautiful. Her blonde streak made her look a little bit like that American comic book chick: Rogue. Her

face reminded Ryosuke of the Italian actress, Sofia Lauren, when she was younger. He had a weird mentality when it came to women: to

admit that a woman was pretty automatically opened the door to dating, love and all that other stuff he had no time or energy for. He

was much to involved with Project D to think about anything else… at least that was his excuse.

Ryosuke: We should get going or we'll be late.

On his words, the two brothers walked outside their home, locked the door behind them and hopped in Keisuke's FD. During the drive,

all Ryosuke could think of was the girl. This incredibly beautiful girl that will be living with him, and sleeping in the room next to his

on top of it. For a moment, he was coming up with ways of spying on her while she'd shower. He shook that though away. _Bad Brain _he

thought to himself. It wasn't like him to think that way. Those perverted thought made him feel like a Mr. Hyde was growing in his head.

The comparison between him and Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde made him chuckle.

Keisuke: What is it Aniki? Did I do a stupid move or something?

_Great, now I traumatised my brother… must think quick… _Ryosuke thought.

Ryosuke: No, not at all. Your driving is perfect. I was just thinking that one of our childhood dreams will soon come true.

Keisuke: What? Living with a pin-up?

_Shit! _It wasn't that fantasy his brother was supposed to think about. Keisuke was half right though, and it completely took Ryosuke by

surprise.

Ryosuke: No, dummie! We'll have a dog!

Keisuke's eyes lit up.

Keisuke: Oh my gosh! It's so true! I wasn't thinking of the dog at all. I was just thinking of the girl. I can't wait! I hope it's a cute little friend!

Ryosuke made a mental note to himself: stay off the subject of Sara, unless it was necessary. _Don't think dirty thoughts_.

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okay, I know. This chapter is short. Stik around though because I'm getting to the real thing. I just want to clarify that what ever is in italics is what the narrating character is thinking to himself. I'm trying to make something that's half narrative and half "theatre script".

As I said, this is my first fan fiction and I'm doing the best I can. Thanks a lot for reading.


	4. Life's about to change

Chapter III: Life's about to change

Sara was staring out of her hotel room. _Today is the day_. She sighed. She would have much rather lived by herself, in her own

apartment so she could do things her way; drink her life away when she felt like it, study when she had to and went for a drive at any

hour if her heart told her so. The last thought made a smile appear on her face. _That's a thing of the past._ Her uncle had managed to

lock her up in a house full of doctors, or nerds, as she would have qualified such academically oriented people. No doubt about it in her

mind, those people will make her study until her brain would shut down. She started talking to her dog.

Sara: Oh Mafia! The most I ever studied for was about for 15 minutes and my averages are of 80 and more!

Dr. Rinaldi: Imagine if you had actually studied seriously.

Sara hadn't heard her uncle creep behind her like that. When she turned around, he was leaning against the door frame.

Sara: Zio! You scared the life out of me!

Dr. Rinaldi: I'm serious. I know just how smart and brilliant you are. To be a lawyer, you must study very hard. I know the Takahashis will make sure of that.

Sara sighed. _Traitor!_ The reason she was freaking even more than the never ending studying sessions was the "Rotary Brothers". She

knew about them and what they did. She also knew about "Akina's 86". Their reputations had made it all the way to Canada and her and

her friend Joyce would often read the results and statistics on their website. _Bait… I must check my every word and action._

She looked at her uncle again. He was leaving that very same night to go back to Italy and she knew that in a couple of hours she would

be under Dr. Takahashi's responsibility. _At least, I'll still have my little Mafia._ A smile appeared on her face again. Mafia was this

little 2 year old fawn pug. Sara thought that her pooch was special because it had remained so tiny. She had adopted the pug the summer

after her dad passed away. When that tragedy occurred, her mother was drowning herself in work, so she would not think of her

husband. Even though there was already a dog in the house, she still bought her small creature so she'd feel less lonely. Her and Mafia

became partner in crime. You could not see one without the other one being nearby.

Sara also thought of how thankful she was to her uncle. _I'm lucky zio had my car imported here. I'd go nuts otherwise._ Her uncle knew

she'd need a car and instead of buying her one in Japan, he just spent a shit load of money to import Sara's "Baby"._ I'll be like the only _

_person driving a Japanese car with the steering on the left here._ The thought made her chuckle. In North America, the coolest thing

was to have an import tuner with the steering on the right soothe car would be different. And there she was in Japan, with a domestic

car with the steering on the left. _Hysterical._

Sara: Zio, are you sure you don't want a ride to the airport?

Dr. Rinaldi: I won't need one, but thank you for the offer. If I were you, I'd start heading to your "home". I told the Takahashi's you'd be there before diner.

With sadness on her face, Sara hugged her uncle very tight for a few minutes. She was sad to be split from him. She was about to cry

when he broke the embrace, but didn't let a single tear drop.

Sara: I'll miss you a lot zio. Have a good trip home.

Dr. Rinaldi: Bye Sara. Good luck for school and make me and your mother proud of you.

She nodded a "yes" and put her dog in her crate. She then picked up her two suit cases while her uncle grabbed her laptop and the crate.

They went to the parking lot where Sara and her uncle put everything in her car: a gunmetal debagged 1999 WRX sti version 5. Sara

Hugged her uncle one last time and took off.

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	5. A new home

Chapter IV : A New home

The doorbell rang. Keisuke went to open the door still half a sleep. He had spent the entire afternoon sleeping and still felt dead tired.

He could not understand how his older brother could stay up all night for Project D and go to school in the early morning. _When does _

_the man sleep? And where? _His thoughts were the same for Fujiwara. _That little bastard._ He opened the door without even checking

who it was. When he saw it was Sara, he greeted her and without even asking her if she needed help or anything, he just went right up to

the gc8v and grabbed the suit case and the laptop that remained in the car, for Sara had already taken out the crate and her second suit

case.

Sara: Thank you Keisuke-Chan, but it really wasn't necessary

Keisuke: No problem. My pleasure. Nice ride by the way! What the…?

Keisuke's jaw really dropped and he also nearly dropped everything he was carrying when he noticed the car's steering wheel was on

the left. He then heard Sara giggle and he saw she was looking at him

Sara: Just in case you're wondering why the steering is on the left, it's from Canada. My uncle had it imported here for me. He knows how much I adore my car.

_Wait 'till Aniki sees this car! _He carried all the stuff inside the house

Keisuke: Follow me, I'll show your room to you.

Sara: Thank you very much Keisuke-Chan.

He managed to open the door with both his hands being busy. On top of it, he was able to turn on the lights with the stuff still in his

hands. _Not bad. _He then looked at Sara and saw her shaking her head as they were putting down her things.

Keisuke: What's wrong Sara-Chan?

Sara: It's the bed… it's far too small for me. I need a double bed. My uncle told me that after finding out you guys had a single bed in the guest's room, he had a double ordered and he told me it should have been here when I'd get here today.

Keisuke: Why do you **need** double?

_Kinky!_

Sara: I sleep with my dog and both of us need quite some room. Speaking of Mafia, can you release her?

Keisuke: Sure, but about that double bed, I have one. We can share it if you want.

He blinked at her and she raised an eyebrow at him. She didn't look too convinced to him. _I don't get it man! Girls normally love me! _

He released the dog out of the crate with a smile on his face and right away she went to smell him. When he saw her, his eyes lit up and

he looked like a child looking at the presents under a Christmas tree.

Keisuke: Oh my gosh! It's a pug! It's the dog my brother and I have always wanted. Wait until Aniki sees him!

Sara: Her! It's my little girl pug…

She was smirking to Keisuke. _Why is it so important to know the sex of an animal… as long as they're cute, that's all that really _

_matters._ He looked at the pooch again. She was so small that he had to get on his knees to play and pet her.

Sara: Keisuke-Chan… where's everybody?

Keisuke: My parents have an emergency at the hospital, not sure about what the heck is going on. They don't tell me shit see… My brother, he should leave school in about one hour and a half and I can't wait for him to be back.

Sara: How come?

Keisuke: So he can make me some food. I'm starving.

Sara: Wow, you can't cook?

Keisuke: Nope, all I can do well in life is race. After diner, we'll go practice on Akagi.

Sara: I have an idea: what if I cook for you and your brother,

Keisuke: Really? Cool! That would be awesome!

_Yes! _Italian food was amongst his favourite. The dog was a great creature and the girl was hotter than hell. She was nothing but good

news to him. There was something though, something in her hazel eyes. They were very mysterious. They seemed to have deeply buried

sadness inside them… just like his brother's eyes.

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Mafia the pug was inspired by my own little baby. Hihi! just thought I needed to say that. Also, in case you wonder why sara says "zio", well it's the italian term for uncle.. Reviews and feedback always welcome


	6. Pasta al forno

Chapter V: Pasta al forno

_Home, sweet home! _Ryosuke was very happy his day at school was finally over. It had been a rough day and he knew that big exam was

coming up the following week. _I have to make sure to study hard since there are no challengers in view._ It was no secret: school was

already wearing him out enough, but with Project D on top of it he was wondering how long he'd be able to hold on without breaking.

And now, just to make things worse, this girl was going to live with his family. He knew that she was moving in as he was hopping into

his FC. He was also convinced that she'd be a great source of distraction to his brother and him. He shook his head. _No time for _

_women. _That's the excuse his brother and him used when his relatives would ask him why none of them had girlfriends. He chuckled at

the thought that his mother had asked him once if he was gay. He definitely wasn't and the way he felt about Sara was proof. He shook

his head again. _Stop thinking about her! Bad brain! _He started his car, backed out of his parking spot and started heading towards

home. Driving relaxed him. The problem was that he'd never be going too much over the speed limit if he wasn't practicing or racing.

Going full throttle was what relaxed him the most. He would sometimes sneak out of his house late at night or early in the morning,

depending on whose point of view, just to go for a drive in periods of great stress. He imagined just how much of that he'd be doing

with that new source of stress. He was able to clear his mind for the rest of the drive. He finally reached his street and he saw an

unfamiliar WRX on his driveway. He then parked right next to it while he was looking at it. _What the...?_ Ryosuke literally stormed out

of his car without even taking the time to pick up his school bag to check that intriguing gc8v from closer just to make sure his suspicion

was real. _Steering on the left, just as I thought. _He took the books he had forgotten in his car, locked his door and started making his

was to his door, his head filled with unanswered questions. As he was making his was to the porch, he realised the door was already

opened and his younger brother was leaning against the doorframe, apparently waiting for him.

Keisuke: Hi Aniki! Good news. You don't have to cook anything. Sara-Chan already took care of that and she's just setting the table right now.

Ryosuke: Sara is here? Where are mom and dad? Whose car is this?

Ryosuke had never before been so confused in his whole lifetime. Keisuke started laughing; he had probably read the confusion on his

brother's face.

Keisuke: Sara-Chan got here about an hour and a half ago. Mom and dad have an emergency at the hospital that I know nothing of except that they won't be back until tomorrow in the early morning. Finally, the WRX belongs to Sara-Chan: the steering on the left is explained by the fact that the car was purchased in Canada and Sara's uncle had it imported here for her.

Ryosuke almost fell down on his butt. For the first time in his life, it wasn't him answering his little brother's questions, but the other

way around. Keisuke was right the other night: he really was starting to be like him. As he entered his house, a delightful smell took

over all his senses. It smelled like pasta. He entered the kitchen and dropped his school bag on the spotless floor. He then saw the pretty

girl he'd be living with as she was checking on the food inside the oven.

Ryosuke: Good evening Sara-Chan. Thank you very much for preparing us a meal tonight. That's very kind of you. Let me guess: you made us some lasagne?

Sara: Good evening Ryosuke. Nice try, but you're wrong: I made us some pasta al forno. You were very close though. Pasta al forno is kind of like lasagne, but real lasagne requires béchamel sauce. Pasta al forno just needs meat sauce. In any case, it's my pleasure to cook for you guys.

_She's lovely. An angel fallen from the sky. _He didn't have time to shake his head to rid him of the thought for he suddenly felt

something pulling on his pants. He looked down and saw a small pug.

Ryosuke: No way! It's the breed my brother and I always loved.

Keisuke: Isn't she gorgeous?

_Who? The dog or the girl?_ Ryosuke blushed slightly.

Keisuke: Earlier, I was telling Sara-Chan it's the dog we always wanted and she didn't believe me.

Ryosuke: He's absolutely right. It's the cutest thing ever.

Sara: I know. Pugs rule my world. Anyhow children, go wash your hands. The food is ready.

While Ryosuke and Keisuke were washing their hands, Sara had taken the pasta out of the oven and started cutting squares. When

Ryosuke and his brother came back, the food was in their plates, just waiting for them on the table as Sara was sitting and smiling at

them. The brothers thanked her again for the meal as they were sitting down themselves. Then the brothers took their first bite. _Oh my _

_goodness! This is the best food I've ever had._

Ryosuke: Sara-Chan… this is clearly delicious. It beats our mother's soup by a mile and a half.

Keisuke: He stole the words from my mouth. It's terrific.

Sara chuckled.

Sara: Thanks for the compliments. I feel like I'll start blushing soon.

Keisuke: Aniki, we have to make it up to her.

Ryosuke: Definitely

Keisuke: Sara, do you like street racing?

Sara: I enjoy racing in general. So yeah…

Keisuke: how 'bout we take Sara-Chan to practice tonight?

Ryosuke: That might bore you though…

Sara: Are you insane? Anything is better than staying by myself, doing nothing. Plus, I love cars and I wouldn't mind seeing how it is here. I gladly accept and thank you for the invitation.

Keisuke: So it's a deal. You'll have to take your own car though. Ryosuke will ride with me.

Sara: Not a problem. I enjoy driving.

_Hmm… She loves races, enjoys driving and owns a WRX… Could she be a racer too? _He knew that she was from another country, so

it's not like she was going to spy on Project D. He hoped not. He still had that funny feeling inside every time he'd lay his eyes on her.

_Damn you brain! We should be careful around her anyways, just as means of precaution. _He would soon see how that girl could

drive her car.

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Hang on. The action is about to start. Feed back is moe than welcome. Thanks a lot for reading.


	7. Speechless

Chapter VI: Speechless

Keisuke was trying to drive slowly since Sara was following his car. He didn't want her to get lost because she couldn't keep up with

him. He thought that'd be way too freaky for a girl who's new to the country and all. He briefly glanced at his older brother, who was

staring blankly out of the window. _Aniki looks quite worried… I wonder why. There are no new challengers in view. What's on his _

_mind?_ His older brother could be such a painful riddle to him. From the corner of his eye, Keisuke saw his brother turning his head

towards him. It seemed to him as though his brother was looking for words. _He's got something to tell me._ Keisuke was right.

Ryosuke: Keisuke, be careful to what you say in front of Sara. I mean, we aren't sure who she really is yet. I'm not saying to ignore her or stay away, just to be careful, especially when it comes to D.

Keisuke was stupefied by what his brother had to say. What he asked him to do sounded awfully pointless and utterly ridiculous: _hello? _

_She's not even from this country? You have a couple of screws loose Aniki… All that studying turned your brain into mush…_

Keisuke: Aniki… Why? I don't understand. It's not like she's a spy or something.

Ryosuke: We don't know that yet. As I said: it's only a precaution.

_Man! This brother of mine can be such a weirdo sometimes. _He glanced into his rear view mirror and was actually pretty surprised to

notice how Sara was sticking up his tail. He didn't think much of it and continued going at a rather slow pace, until he got to the first

section of Akagi, where he'd have to start climbing it. _I can go faster now. Sara-Chan can't get lost anymore._ Keisuke started

accelerating to climb the mountain. He glanced at the rear view mirror again. Sara-Chan wasn't sticking up his ass anymore. _Man! _

_She's pretty slow._ At the same time, he heard his brother whisper something he couldn't pick up.

Keisuke: What did you say aniki?

Ryosuke: I said: wow, she's pretty fast.

_Huh?_ Keisuke was wondering why he said that. He then looked out of his left window, and saw Sara's WRX. She was just about to

pass him. _No you don't!_ His instinctive racing mind took him over: He was racing Sara-Chan!

Ryosuke: I can't believe how fast she is. Now do you understand why we have to be even more precautious when it comes to her?

Keisuke just answered his brother by a nod. All he wanted to do was to make sure Sara would go back where she belonged: right

behind him. So he stepped it up yet just a little. They were just entering the second section of MT. Akagi and Sara hadn't bugged at all:

she was still right next to the yellow FD and Keisuke's brother had a great view of her gc8v. _She can't do anything! She's on my turf!_

He still couldn't believe how Sara took the first five hairpins of Akagi. She tackled them like they were nothing, for she was right there

with him. Keisuke stepped it up again, but in vain. The gc8v would still be right there for him. They were now at the hairpin right before

the third section. Again, Sara stuck to him like a shadow and Keisuke was starting to boil up in rage. Keisuke glanced again at his

brother: Ryosuke was staring at the gunmetal car right next to him with this mouth slightly opened and his eyes completely drained of

any expression what so ever. The sight of his brother in that state freaked out Keisuke: his brother looked hypnotized. Ryosuke didn't

even look like that when they were following Fujiwara in the FC the night he raced Nakazato. Keisuke sighed. _I thought he looked _

_scary that night, but this doesn't even compare! _They were at the last hairpin of the third section, right before the last section. Keisuke

looked around him and couldn't see her any more: she wasn't behind him, she wasn't beside him, and certainly not in front of him.

Keisuke: It's over Aniki! I could shake her off. Man! She was more annoying that Fujiwara when he sticks to your tail.

Ryosuke: It's not over yet! I can't believe that you didn't see that.

Keisuke: See what?

Ryosuke: Baka! She's in your blind spot on my side with her lights off. She'll pass you at the next hairpin.

Crap! If his brother was right, he'd get passed, and there was nothing to do. The next pin was he third hairpin of the last section of the

hill climb, and it turned left. Like an idiot, he kept the right hand side of the road. As his brother predicted, in the middle of that hairpin,

she turned her lights on again, passed him and took off at an unbelievable speed. Keisuke saw nothing coming, and he should have been

able to pick that one up: Damn Fujiwara did that all the time! Keisuke tried to catch up by speeding up again, but his brother soon had

something to say.

Ryosuke: Drop it Keisuke. She won.

Keisuke: There's nothing I could do. Nothing… I got beat on my own turf! And it was by a foreign girl on top of it!

Keisuke felt like crying. He wanted to kill her. Why? Why didn't she tell them that she was a street racer? She could have told them that,

but she just said she enjoyed racing in general… _Damn! She's a professional racer for all I know. _Keisuke then turned to his brother.

_Her looks more lost than me!_ Keisuke couldn't remember the last time his brother looked so… speechless!

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	8. Clues

Chapter VII: Clues

Sara was following Keisuke's car that was going at a slow pace. He was driving much too slowly for Sara's liking._ What a snail! I _

_expected a street racer of his league to drive a little faster than that, even though he's not racing or practicing._ She was about to

start chewing her steering wheel when she realised he was doing that because he believed she couldn't keep up with him: after all, he

had no idea who she was. Sara had the brilliant idea of sticking to his tail. _Perhaps he'll get the message and he'll stop driving like a _

_granny._ Keisuke didn't budge at first. _Damn it! _It isn't until he started climbing the mountain that he accelerated, trying to leave Sara in

the dust. Sara deeply pondered on how to react. She wasn't sure whether she was going all out after him or if she should wait until his

out of sight to punch it. Suddenly, Sara started to listen to the song on her dance CD she had on at that moment. The song was castle in

the sky by DJ Sammy. She focused on the beat and started singing out loud: she loved that song. Next thing she knew, her car was right

next to Keisuke's. _Crap! How did that happen? I didn't even try to catch up. I'm in deep trouble._ _My cover is blown away_. Since

she's already blown it and made it that far, may as well enjoy it: she'd make that her last time. Sara had sworn to herself never to race

again. She thought of the day she took that decision and some tears appeared in her eyes. She chased the thought away from her mind,

and started focusing on her prey. She could see how skilled he was, but she could see all his flaws. She played with him for most of the

hill climb. She'd never tell him, but the truth was that she could have passed him right away, without even trying. She knew this

mountain. She had driven on it before, just like she drove on Akina and Irohasaka._ If he doesn't pull away, I'll give him a blind attack _

_at the third to last hairpin._ Sara conformed to her strategy. She had passed Keisuke. _Poor guy! He's still wondering what the heck _

_happened to him._ Then Sara froze, as she reached the mountaintop and slowed down the speed so she could park her car. Sara was

kicking herself mentally. _Why did I do that? What's wrong with me? I'm supposed to watch my every move. How am I going to get _

_myself out of this mess?_ Sara still couldn't believe that she had lost control over herself so easily. Sure, she tried to resist, in vain

though. She knew that if she was listening to anything else but techno, that wouldn't have happened. She saw the yellow FD parking

right behind her gc8v. She deeply breathed in and got out of the car. She had perhaps found a way out.

Sara: Wow! The view from here is totally breath taking.

Keisuke: That's all you have to say? You beat me on my hill climb and all you find to say is that the view is freaking breath taking.

As she expected Keisuke was fuming. She glanced at Ryosuke and the poor guy looked completely out of it, like he just got punched in

the face or something. She'd have to play a charm tactic with a hint of threat. Her five years of acting training would finally pay off. She

took the most offended expression she could simulate, and started believing her completely false story.

Sara: Very funny Keisuke! I'm not buying it! Why are you even mad at me?

Keisuke: Not buying what? Got damn it! Not only are you fast, you also pull a blind attack on my ass!

Sara took a surprised expression. She managed to put some tears in her eyes just by thinking of the day she quit racing. She couldn't

believe that would actually be an inspiration. She then took a deep breath and looked at Keisuke straight in the eyes. _Bingo, it's in the _

_bag now!_

Sara: Damn it Keisuke! I was trying to keep up with you at first, then when I saw I could actually match your speed…

Sara carefully let a tear fall from her eye. She saw Keisuke's expression getting softer in his face. She would have quickly glanced at

Ryosuke, but that would have broken the intense moment between her and Keisuke.

Sara: Weren't you playing around with me and weren't going to let me pass in front of you like a gentle man? I accidentally turned my lights off while I tried to clean my windshield: I never tried to do it at such a high speed, then when I turned them back on, I was passing you. Why did you let me do that to yell at me now?

She was still looking at him straight in the eyes: the confusion was clearly taking over his mind. She finally took a look at Ryosuke: he

looked at though he had seen a ghost. Again the two brothers were speechless.

Keisuke: What? Sara-Chan, are you telling me that you thought? I wasn't going all out?

_Music to my ears! He bought it!_ That was just what Sara wanted to hear from him.

Sara: You weren't, right?

Ryosuke: You got the wrong impression Sara-Chan. He was giving all he had and only wanted to break away from you.

Sara: Stop making fun of me. I don't believe you one tiny bit.

Ryosuke: Believe what you want, but I'm very impressed by the way you drive. Are you a road racer?

_Ah shit! That one didn't buy it… at least his not pissed off._ She noticed how much more focused he looked compared to before. He

looked as though he was trying to fill in the gaps in her story and she had just the fillers he needed. She thought of telling him about her

ex-boyfriend, but that would be far too painful for her. _Mom's boyfriend!_

Sara: No. However, my stepfather is a rally racer and instructor and I did co-pilot on several occasions and he did show me techniques on the circuit.

Keisuke started laughing. Ryosuke seemed satisfied her explanation. She got herself out of the mess. She let go a sigh of relief.

Keisuke: Now, everything is much clearer in my mind. For an instant, I thought you were working for a racing team and that you were spying on us.

Sara: Well, if I did, you guys would have never suspected me! I'd cover myself too well. I'm glad you're not mad at me anymore.

Sara looked to her car again. Another car was in front of it. _No way! An AE86!_ She saw a young man get out of it and going to the back

of her car right away and saw him gasp. Then, she saw him check out the steering and saw him gasp again. He then turned around,

completely speechless.

Ryosuke: Ah! Fujiwara-Chan! Good evening. Here's the girl I was talking about two nights ago. Her name is Sara. Sara-Chan, this is Takumi Fujiwara. He's one of my double aces.

Sara: Pleased to meet you Takumi-Chan!

Takumi: Nice to meet you too. Ryosuke, whose car is that?

Ryosuke: Why it's Sara's

Takumi turned pale. Sara saw him slowly turn to look at her in the face. Once his eyes meet hers, he started blushing and looked at the

floor. _Should I be worried?_

Takumi: Ryosuke-senpai, I'm pretty sure it was Sara-Chan passed me the other night.

Sara: Hold on a minute! I don't remember passing any AE86. I swear, I'm positive.

Takumi: I was in my father's car. It's identical to yours… well, it isn't debagged and the steering is on the right.

_Damn it! It was that freaking snail on Akina! Now what? A singing, tap-dancing chipmunk will make its entrance? _Sara felt seriously

screwed. She had no clue what to do or say. She had managed to convince the rotary brothers and now she'd have to convince the

driver of the legendary 86 from Akina. That's when it hit her: she had defeated project D. The thought made her giggle.

Ryosuke: What's so funny? You are that happy of having beaten my double ace?

_Damn you. Stop figuring me out! I'm trying to get myself out again._ She couldn't conceive that a guy who normally drives and 86

could drive a gc8v. _Bingo._

Sara: No. What cracks me up is that poor Fujiwara-Chan is used to the 86. It's normal for him to get passed in the WRX. He's not familiar enough with it. He doesn't know when to shift and how to drift the car. That night I noticed he would just use grip. Yet I think that nothing beats a 4WD drift! That's what cracks me up! I mean, it doesn't take rocket science to figure that one out!

_In your face!_ Sara had completely improvised that.

Takumi: Hey! That makes sense.

Ryosuke: I guess…

Sara: Takumi, trust me. When it'll be a whole year that you drive it, you'll be much more comfortable with it and will push it just as much as you push your 86.

Keisuke: Yeah, I believe that too. Practice makes perfect.

Sara was glad she could settle that without them probing her about her past. She would tell them about her racing days in Canada when

she'll be ready. It was still much too fresh in her mind and far too painful to tell anyone about it. Matsumoto and Fumihiro as well as the

rest of the project D crew had just arrived and their practice was going to start. She sighed. It brought back some good memories from

Ile Bizard, Mt. Royal and Rigau Mountain. She smirked just as her cell phone rang…

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Here it is! Chapter 7. I highly recommand reading this chapter with an akagi map so that you an visualise the action more easily. Chapter 8 will be up soon. thanks for reading.


	9. Hurt

Chapter VIII: Hurt

Ryosuke had given simple guideline to Keisuke and Takumi so that they could explore different ways of taking turns, shifting and other technicalities. He still had trouble believe what Sara was able to accomplish in so little time. She beat both her aces like they not even worthy of racing. He didn't entirely buy that rally-racing story, nor did he buy the lame explanation she provided for the blind attack she did on Keisuke. She clearly impressed him. _An official race between her and my aces could be interesting and challenging._ Even though she could pass both of them, a race wasn't really engaged. When the opponents know that they're racing, it's a completely different ball game. He watched his two drivers get into their cars and then he turned to look at Sara. She was talking on her cell phone. Matsumoto and the others then came up to him.

Matsumoto: Wow! That girl is hot! I envy you for living with her.

Fomihiro: Heck yeah! Me too. I wish I had a pretty girl like that in my house.

Kenta: You and Keisuke are really lucky.

Ryosuke: You want her? Take her! She's more trouble than she's worth!

Kenta: What do you mean?

Ryosuke: That girl beat Keisuke at climbing Akagi and she beat Fujiwara on Akina a few nights ago. Yes! The person that passed Takumi was Sara!

The three men's jaw dropped, as Ryosuke expected.

Kenta: She was able to pass them?

Matsumoto: Not good for D… not good at all

Fumihiro: Let's all hope the word won't spread out.

Ryosuke: Anyhow, now I want you guys to go back to what ever you were doing before. I must talk to Sara-Chan.

The three men let Ryosuke be as he asked. He looked at Sara-Chan. She looked very excited and he god closer to her little by little, kind of like he was sneaking up on her, for she didn't notice he was eavesdropping on what she was saying in English. From what he understood, she was speaking to someone named Joyce and she was talking about asking permission to shi parents about something. He then saw her close her cell phone and turning around with her eyes full of starts, until her eyes met his. Then they both gasped at the same time. Then they looked at each other in the eyes for almost a minute until Ryosuke finally broke the silence.

Ryosuke: So tell me Sara-Chan, what is it that you must ask my parents about?

Sara: Hey! You were listening to my private conversation. That's not nice and it's kind of creepy!

Ryosuke: I agree, but lying isn't nice either. You might have fooled the other two, but you don't fool me. I don't doubt that you've rally raced, but most of what I saw was pure street racing tactics. So, who's this Joyce person?

Ryosuke felt kind of nervous: it wasn't his style to intimidate good-looking young women, or anyone else for that matter. Except for races. He could see just how uncomfortable she looked and he could imagine how awkward she must've felt. That girl was puzzling him and he needed to find out. He then saw something change in her eyes: she looked incredibly sad and a split second later, she looked mad as mad can get. That gave him a funny feeling inside. No girl had ever looked at him with such rage inside her eyes. He didn't admit it to himself, but that instant she looked into his eyes with pure rage turned him on.

Sara: Look, I don't give a flying fk what you think about my driving capacities. Just so that I make it crystal clear, I don't give a rat's ass about the tactics your team will use. I don't care if you think I'm a spy and if you really must know, Joyce is my best friend from Canada and she called me tonight to let me know she has one month off and she was wondering if she could come here for a few weeks to see me.

Sara then turned around and opened her car's door, turned on the radio and started blasting techno music. She then reclined her seat so Ryosuke couldn't see her anymore. Ryosuke was speechless again. When she was speaking to him, she didn't yell at all. Yet she weighed every single word so that they would land like bricks in Ryosuke's mind and heart. She had a point though: even if she really was a street racer, it was none of his business. And if she really were a spy, she would have done anything in her power to harass Fumihiro, Matsumoto and Kenta so she could extract valuable information from them. Ryosuke felt bad. Normally girls just tried to seduce him and be nice to him or the status of being with a top notch street racer. Basically, they would do anything to please him. Sara on the other hand did not. She was the first hot girl he ever met that wasn't shallow. That's probably what attracted him so much about her: the fact that she was completely genuine. It was the first woman who ever told him off like that and put him back in his place. Well, his mother used to, but she didn't count. _She's something._ He then felt the need to apologize to her. As he tried to approach the car, Fumihiro came up to him to discuss some technicalities. Once that issue was concluded, his double aces were finished their run and were speaking to the mechanics about technical issues. _Here's my chance to talk to her. _He approached her car again, successfully this time and looked at her through her window. She was still lying in her seat with her eyes closed and he could se runs in her make up that suggested the fact that she had cried. He could still hear the music blasting from her car. He recognised the song that was playing: it was **_Hurt _**by **Nine inch nails**. He listened to the lyrics while looking at the girl. He saw pain in her face and he saw some tears running down her cheeks. Seeing her in hat state broke his heart. For a second he debated weather or not to knock on her window. _What the heck, we're leaving soon anyways._ So he did knock on her window. Her eyes opened very quickly and right away, she lowered the volume and looked at him. She then rolled down her window.

Sara: What do you want?

Ryosuke's heart tightened when he heard the bitterness in her voice.

Ryosuke: I just wanted to apologize for before. Even though I'm stressed out, I have no excuse to protrude into your personal life. I just wanted you to know that.

Sara: Is that all?

Ryosuke felt even worse for the bitterness in her voice was still present.

Ryosuke: I was also wondering if you wanted to carpool for school tomorrow.

Sara: Ok, just wake me up in time. It takes me an hour and fifteen minutes to get ready.

Ryosuke: Great. We'll take my car. Listen, we're about to leave.

Sara: Leave when you must, I'll just follow… Oh yeah, I won't even try to keep up with you. I don't want you guys to freak out like a bunch of virgin girls in sex ed. Class on me again.

On these words, she rolled up her window and started blasting her music again. Ryosuke truly felt like crap. He had no idea she would react like that. _I am such a dick. I screwed it all up now. _He truly wished she'd forgive him quickly. He then thought about her best friend who wanted to come here. Knowing his parents, they would have refused that type of request just because she was in school. If it were during a school break, they wouldn't really care. _That's it! I'll convince my parents to let her friend come here. Solution found._

Fujiwara had already left along with the technical crew. The only other people remaining beside him and Sara were Kenta and Keisuke. Ryosuke signalled to his brother that they were going to leave. Keisuke and Ryosuke said goodbye to Kenta and left in Keisuke's car. Sara was following them really slowly…

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Here are the lyrics of Hurt by Nine Inch Nails. The song Sara was listening to in her car.

**I hurt myself today  
To see if I still feel  
I focus on the pain  
The only thing that's real  
The needle tears a hole  
The old familiar sting  
Try to kill it all away  
But I remember everything  
What have I become?  
My sweetest friend  
Everyone I know  
Goes away in the end  
You could have it all  
My empire of dirt  
I will let you down  
I will make you hurt  
I wear my crown of st  
On my liar's chair  
Full of broken thoughts  
I cannot repair  
Beneath the stain of time  
The feeling disappears  
You are someone else  
I am still right here  
What have I become?  
My sweetest friend  
Everyone I know  
Goes away in the end  
You could have it all  
My empire of dirt  
I will let you down  
I will make you hurt  
If I could start again  
A million miles away  
I would keep myself  
I would find a way**

Thanks a lot for reading and stay tunned. :)


	10. Painful past

Chapter IX: Painful Past

The two brothers got back home first and about ten minutes later, Sara arrived. She found the two brothers waiting for her on the porch. Ryosuke was looking at the ground and Keisuke looked at Sara with a rather worried look. As she got out of her car and locked the door, Keisuke approached her.

Keisuke: Where were you Sara-Chan? We were getting worried.

_Yeah right! Well, maybe you were but your demented brother had no reason to after the conversation. _She didn't want to mention that to Keisuke though: it wasn't her place to do so.

Sara: Well, you know… I took it easy and I know the way now. There was no need to worry. So, are we going inside?

She made the fakest smile appear on her face while Ryosuke unlocked the front door. When they got inside, Mafia greeted them by jumping all over the place. Sara picked her up and started hugging her. _You're the only trustworthy soul in this place. _She then remembered about the carpool with Ryosuke.

Sara: So Ryousuke, what time will you wake me up for?

Ryosuke: around 6:00

Sara: Great. What time are your parents getting home at?

Keisuke: They said around 6:00 as well. Why?

Sara: My friend from Canada would like to come visit me. I wanted to ask permission first.

Keisuke: Ouch! Good luck with that. Our parents are really strict when it's school time. They'll probably refuse.

Ryosuke: Actually, let me ask them for you. I know them better than you do and know which strings to pull so that they accept.

Sara: Really? Gee… thanks Ryosuke.

She was surprised he'd do something nice for her… mind you, he did apologize to her so, he couldn't be that cruel of a person.

Sara: All right kids. I bid you good night and sweet dreams. Wish me luck.

Ryosuke: Why?

Keisuke: Miss Puzzo here find that twin beds are too small, so she absolutely needs a double bed. Sara-Chan you know, my offer is still valid.

Keisuke blinked at her again. Sara looked at Ryosuke and he looked puzzled. She couldn't help but giggle.

Ryosuke: What offer?

Keisuke: Well I told her she could sleep with me if she wanted to.

Ryosuke's eyes widened and his face turned red. Seeing that made Sara go from giggling to laughing loudly. She was thinking about what to respond until she stopped laughing and took a straight face. She turned to Keisuke and looked at him right in the eyes in a serious manner.

Sara: I accept.

It was then Keisuke's turn to blush and Ryosuke went from red to pale. She could see how ticked off Ryosuke was. She was actually enjoying Ryosuke's reaction, even though she didn't understand why he'd be ticked off: it's not like it's any of his damn business

Sara: But on one condition: you have to sleep in my bed and expect some pug hairs all over your bed sheets.

She then burst into laughter again. So did Keisuke and Ryosuke just smirked. He looked relieved. Keisuke accepted to Sara's conditions and the three of them went upstairs and got ready for bed. Sara entered Keisuke's messy room. She expected worse though. She lay down in the bed. Her pug jumped up to join her and then crashed down on the other pillow. Sara smiled. Her puppy could be so adorable. She turned off the light and closed her eyes. She thought about the evening and the night she just had. Granted, the rotary brothers were pretty nice guys, and even if Ryosuke didn't buy her story, it's not like she could blame him. _Joyce and I would have done the same thing._ What made her snap was the fact that he snuck up on her and listened to her conversation with Joyce; it wasn't the behaviour fit for the gentleman someone like Ryosuke was brought up to be like.

_Joyce will be here soon! _That thought made her smile. Sara and Joyce went through so much together. They had met during their first year of college and never ceased being friends since. Joyce was like a sister to Sara. It was because of her that she had come to Japan. Sara's eyes filled with tears again as she thought of the break up. Her boyfriend had left her after a three and a half years relationship. And it was all her fault. She felt her heart break as she thought of the last words he said to her the day he left her. "What kind of a girlfriend humiliates her man like that? You were supposed to love me. I despise you and I don't ever want to see your venomous face again." _I'm so sorry Alex. _Sara was desperately sobbing as she curled herself up into a ball.

_I ruined everything. All the plans we made are gone in dust. _She remembered how miserable she was for the three weeks following that break up. She was a real zombie that barely ate and all she'd do was listening to music on her ipod while remaining in bed all day, or getting drunk out of her mind. Joyce would still come and visit her to try and cheer her up along with Matt. Matt was her boyfriend's best friend. The irony of life decided that when Alex and her broke up, Joyce and Matt started dating.

One day, Sara's mother got a call from her brother and she told him how Sara was depressed because of the break up. That's when Sara's uncle decided to take Sara to Japan for the summer with him while he'd sell out the new machine. Sara didn't want to go at first, but Joyce convinced her to go. " It'll be good for you, you'll see." Joyce was right: Sara was doing better. Her uncle spoke to Sara's mother one month after his niece and himself got to Japan and told her how she was eating and laughing again. He then proposed the idea of Sara going to school in Japan for a year: she spoke perfect Japanese and loved the country. Sara's mother was thrilled with the idea. Sara was actually pretty pleased herself.

Sara was still crying like a silent fountain. She didn't want the brothers to hear her. With all the explaining she had to do tonight, explaining the story of how she ruined the relationship with the only man she ever loved would be far to painful for her to stand. She hugged Mafia and fell asleep with tears in her eyes.


	11. Wake up mix up

Chapter X: Wake up mix up

The next morning Ryosuke woke up as his alarm clock went off. He turned it off and got out of his bed. _I'll take a shower then I'll wake her up so I can make breakfast, as she gets ready._ A smile appeared on his face. He thought that since she had made dinner for him and his brother, it was only fair that he'd make her breakfast. It was 5:45 when he stepped into the shower. As he was getting himself clean, he thought about the whole bed scene that occurred the previous night. For a moment he truly believed she was going to sleep with his brother. If that would have had happened, he would have gotten so mad. He recalled when Sara said she accepted her brother's offer: his blood was boiling in rage. Even though his brother had probably offered her to sleep with him as a joke, he couldn't believe Keisuke would do such a thing without consulting him first. _What the heck? Why did I even care about that? It's none of my business even if she actually did sleep with him! _That's when it hit Ryosuke: yesterday, he was jealous of his little brother. And now that he thought about it, he really, really liked Sara-Chan. Ryosuke literally slapped himself. He didn't have anytime for women. He then thought about how she passed her brother. _She's all raw skills: The ways she'd take turns while being right next to the FD's left side and not losing a single millimetre was crazy_. The only time she decreased her speed was when she turned on the lights to do the blind attack and then she just blasted out so fast. He also thought of the surprise and the commotion she had caused when everyone found out that she passed the double aces. And that furious look in her eyes… _Her beautiful eyes looked so sad right before she got mad. I'm such an insensitive dumb ass. Only me can make a girl upset like that._ He got out of the shower and went in Keisuke's room to wake Sara up.

Ryosuke: Wake up Sara-Chan… Oh my god!

Ryosuke gasped in surprise as he entered the room to find Sara lying on her side cuddling the dog, then his brother behind Sara cuddling her. His brother's hand was right on her breast. Ryosuke got a sharp pain in his chest by seeing that and he felt his throat tighten. He also felt his eyes filling with water. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He glanced at his brother again just to notice he wasn't wear a t-shirt. _They had sex for sure. They had planned this out yesterday before I got here. _He was angry and he was sad. He was confused, so he started taking deep breaths. He then remembered what he went there to do. He tapped on Sara's cheeks until her eyes opened. He saw her looking at him, and then she tried to straighten her body. Then she turned around and looked at Keisuke. Ryosuke saw her eyes widen and looking at his younger brother with confused eyes. That's when she let go the loudest scream he ever heard and grabbing the blankets to hide herself at one end of the bed. Keisuke jumped about 5 feet high.

Keisuke: Ahhh! What's going on?

Sara: You tell me!

Ryosuke: Both of you tell me. Mind you, your sex life isn't any of my business.

Ryosuke glanced at the garbage bin in the room.

Ryosuke: All I have to say is that you could have used a condom.

Sara: What the heck are you talking about?

Keisuke: We didn't have sex.

Ryosuke: Don't try to foul me. As I said it's none of my business, but if I were you Sara-Chan, I'd get out of his bed while he's in it when my parents get here.

Sara: Keisuke, how did you get here?

Keisuke: I don't know, I think I went to the bathroom or something and just came back here.

Ryosuke: Yeah, and then you start cuddling her because you thought she was a pillow. You don't have to worry, I won't tell the parents. Sara-Chan, get ready, I'll cook us some breakfast.

On these words, Ryosuke rushed himself downstairs and got to the kitchen. He never felt like this in his life. He felt as though his rib cage was going to collapse. Now he could fully understand the expression "broken heart". He had that sinking feeling where his heart anatomically is. He didn't understand: he clearly established that he didn't like her and that he had no time for women. Yet it pissed him off. A little voice would whisper unwanted things to him. _Why Keisuke and not me? _That was a no-brainer: every girl fell for his little brother because he was so wild. _I'm just this really boring geek: girls get bored after two minutes talking to me. _As he was preparing coffee, he felt Sara and Keisuke's presence behind him. He didn't realise that they had stand there for a few minutes already. He turned around and looked at the two of them with a blank look in his eyes.

Keisuke: Aniki, I swear on project D nothing happened. Look, I remember going to the bathroom and then going back to my room. I was half a sleep. It all was my fault.

Sara: I just woke up and he was there. Heck, Mafia looked surprised.

Ryosuke: Guys, I really don't have time for this.

Sara: Got damn it Ryosuke-Chan. You really have issues when it comes to understanding something really basic.

On these words she left and headed upstairs. She sounded ticked off. Ryosuke looked at his brother and was trying to look as normal as possible even though he was still mortified.

Keisuke: Aniki, I don't understand your reaction. I swear nothing happened. If something did happen, I would tell you about it. Why do you even care?

Ryosuke looked to the floor, then turned around and took some eggs out of the fridge. He didn't know why he reacted like such a freak. He believed what his brother was telling him. He knew his brother would never lie to him. He turned around to look at Keisuke's face and he didn't look confused anymore. His eyes widened considerably and his lips were trembling.

Keisuke: I get it know. You don't just find Sara-Chan attractive… you have a thing for her. Holly cow, that explains it all. No wonder you reacted like that.

Keisuke was smiling. Ryosuke severely looked at his brother and turned around to break eggs into a bowl and start whipping them. His brother was right and Ryosuke knew it. Keisuke figured out what he didn't even want to admit to himself.

Keisuke: So?

Ryosuke: So what?

Keisuke: What are you going to do about it?

Ryosuke: There's nothing to do about it. We don't have time for women Keisuke. Besides, she's not my type.

Keisuke: What are you talking about? The two of you are perfect for each other. Come on, you like her and it's so obvious now that I think about it.

Keisuke was smiling at him with enthusiasm. Ryosuke was dipping bread slices in the whipped eggs and was starting to cook the French toasts.

Ryosuke: Will you join Sara-Chan and us for breakfast?

Keisuke: Heck no! I'm going back to bed. I'll leave you two lovebirds alone.

Keisuke went back upstairs into his bedroom leaving his astonished brother alone with his apron. _Crap. Now he knows. He'll harass me with that for months._ Ryosuke faced the obvious. He liked Sara. _Great! Let's pray nobody else figures that out._ As Ryosuke was flipping the French toast, he heard the front door open. His parents were home.

Ryosuke: Good morning mother and father.

Dr. Takahashi: Good night son. Your mother and I are going to sleep. Be there tonight for dinner. I have something to tell you, your brother and your new sister. Clean up before you leave.

_Wow! That was direct to the point. Touché father!_ _Thanks for reminding me I can't be attracted to her because it's like she's my sister now._ Sara snuck up behind him without him noticing.

Sara: Hmm. It's smells good. I love French toast.

Ryosuke: You scared the living heck out of me Sara-Chan!

Sara: Glad to hear you're not aggravated anymore.

Ryosuke: My brother explained what happened again. I should have known better. I don't know why I freaked out. My brother doesn't lie to me.

Sara: Great. I just wanted you to know I'm not like that. I can't do certain things with just anyone. On top of it you're brother's not my type: I don't like men who dye their hair. I love men that wear aprons though.

She blinked at him and he felt himself blush. He turned off the element and put the French toasts into plates.

Ryosuke: It's ready.

Sara: Thanks a lot for cooking breakfast for me.

Ryosuke: My pleasure.

They both ate breakfast and then, they went to school. Ryosuke was anxious to find out why his father wanted everyone to be there for dinner. _Probably another announcement._

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Chapter 9 and 10 are a little slow, yet these are key moments in the story. Hang on. Some real action is comming up really soon. Thanks for the feedback and the reviews. Thanks for reading too :)


	12. Home alone

Chapter XI: Home alone

The school day went by pretty quickly for Sara. She glanced at her watch. Ryosuke was going to be done 30 minutes later. She decided to go to their rendezvous point: the library. _It's the only place where I can actually pass time without getting too bored…_ She sat down at one of the first decks and then she took out her car scrapbook. Sara smiled thinking about when she first bought the car. _It doesn't look anything like that anymore. _It used to be white with very little rust. In Canada, they didn't sell the 2-door imprezza WRX sti. They only had the base model: the 2.5 RS. Once she bought it, she ordered the WRX sti engine from Japan and basically changed every single component to make it a WRX sti. _The only things that I've kept were the stock mags._ It was her ex-boyfriends best friend that fixed up her car. He was a very good mechanic and he worked for Mitsubishi. _The double irony of my car: it's the only Subaru that ever was allowed to go to a Mitsubishi dealership and it's the only Japanese car in Japan to have the steering on the left. _She remembered all the trouble she had to go through to modify her car without her boyfriend finding out. She had once speculated about the modifications in front of him and he got upset. According to him, it was too dangerous for his precious girl to have that much horsepower. She still did as she wished; only she did it behind his back. Once her car's mechanical features were to her liking, she bought the high spoiler and the skirt, installed them, debagged all the writing on the car and got her gunmetal colour. Finally, the only change still remaining to be done was the installation of racing seats. _It won't be necessary anymore. I'm done racing._

She released a sad sigh and thought about her day at school. It was all right. The highlight of the day was when Ryosuke-Chan parked his car. Sara didn't know that he had groupies following him. It was so hilarious when Sara got out of the car and all the groupies were starring her down and giving her dirty looks. _Haters are everywhere._ She smirked. She should have expected a man like Ryosuke to have groupies. He was quite handsome and charming, well when he wanted to of course. He dressed well and was on his way to become a brilliant physician. _He reminds me of Alex. _As a matter a fact, Ryosuke did slightly resemble her ex-boyfriend and on top of it, he dressed like him too. She felt a presence behind herself and turned around. Some weird guy with a bandana was there looking over her shoulder onto her scrapbook.

Sara: Who are you and what do you want from me.

The guy smirked.

Kyouichi: My name is Kyouichi Sudou. It's very rare to find such a lovely young lady sitting by herself. I must add that the car in your book is really nice, but mine is nicer and probably faster.

Sara: And I would care because…?

Kyouichi: My, my… You have quite an attitude. I love girls with an attitude. Anyhow, my car is a lan evo 3. It may just be my imagination, but I've seen a car like that on my mountain. I was practicing on the downhill a week ago or so and some foul in that very same car passed me. Who drives it? Your boyfriend I presume.

_What's wrong with this nosy bastard?_ Sara figured it was the foul that she passed on Irohasaka that night. He was pretty slow on top of it. She smiled and looked at Kyouichi straight in the eyes.

Sara: How come you let it pass you? Isn't your car supposed to be faster?

Kyouichi: Listen, and listen carefully, I want a name. Now!

Sara was officially scared of what that psychopath might do. He was looking at her with rage in his eyes. If he wanted to intimidate her, he succeeded. She quickly glanced at her watch. _Ryosuke should be here by now. Where are you? _She then realised he was stepping into the library and was looking towards her. _Thank God!_

Kyouichi: So? Who drives that bloody WRX?

Ryosuke: She does. You shouldn't intimidate young ladies like that. It's not a gentlemen's thing to do.

Kyouichi turned around and looked at Ryosuke who was crossing his arms. Kyouichi looked surprised to see him.

Kyouichi: Takahashi? You know her? She races?

Ryosuke: I know her, I can tell you that much only though. The rest, I'm not sure myself. I can only presume. She did pass my double aces after all.

Kyouichi: She did that?

Sara: Wait a second. You guys know each other?

Ryosuke: We did race each other twice. Tell me Sudou, what are you doing here?

Kyouichi: I just delivered something to the school.

Ryosuke: I see. Farewell and take care of yourself.

Sara grabbed her stuff as fast as she could and followed Ryosuke who was walking towards the library's exit.

Sara: Goodbye. It was nice meeting you.

Kyouichi just stood there completely speechless. Once they were far enough, Sara looked at Ryosuke.

Sara: Thank you so much Ryosuke-Chan. He scared me a lot.

Ryosuke: Don't mention it. If you ever meet him again, watch out. I don't believe he's dangerous, but I know how intimidating he can be.

Once they reached the parking lot, they walked to Ryosuke's car and climbed aboard it. Ryosuke put his keys in the ignition, but instead of turning his car on he looked at Sara.

Ryosuke: You really passed him. Where?

Sara: It was on Irohasaka, going downhill.

Ryosuke: Then you expect me to believe you don't race? How many other cars have you passed?

Sara: I told you yesterday. You can believe whatever you want to believe. I'm here to study and to get over something that happened to me in Canada. I'm not here to challenge anyone or humiliate anyone.

Ryosuke: If you aren't a racer, you should start racing. You have great skills and great potential. I hate to say this, but you could probably dominate the whole Gunma region. I don't know what possibly happened to you before you came here, but if you told somebody, it would help you. I see the sorrow in your eyes whenever your past is brought up.

Sara: That's a personal issue. I don't want to talk about it.

Ryosuke: That's fine.

Ryosuke finally turned on his car and they left the parking lot. They were halfway home and not another word was spoken between them. He turned to look at her for a short moment. She was sleeping. Ryosuke waked Sara up once they finally got home. They walked inside the house and were greeted by Mrs. Takahashi.

Mrs. Takahashi: Hello Ryosuke, good evening Sara-Chan. How was school today?

Ryosuke: Very instructive.

Dr. Takahashi: That's my son! What about yours Sara-Chan?

Sara: Long and boring, but very instructive as well.

Dr. Takahashi: Your uncle told me you hated school. It's great to see you still have the willpower to do it anyways, unlike my youngest son.

Keisuke: That's not fair fath…

Dr. Takahashi: See, he even speaks when he's not allowed.

Sara felt really bad for Keisuke. She noticed that the two times she saw him in the same room as his father, he's always get put down.

Mrs. Takahashi: Anyways, we'll eat right away.

Ryosuke: Why so early?

Dr. Takahashi: Go was your hands and you'll find out at the table.

The three young adults did what Dr. Takahashi asked and then sat down at the table. Dr. Takahashi and his wife were already sitting down at the table. The second the three younger adults sat down, Dr. Takahashi cleared his throat and straightened his body.

Dr. Takahashi: Kids, your mother and I will be gone for a little more than a month. The reason why we are eating early is because we have to catch the plane at nine thirty tonight. We will be attending various medical conventions all around the world.

Mrs. Takahashi: So I'll leave you kids with a list of chores and some money for groceries. You should be fine with that.

Ryosuke: Why didn't you tell us earlier?

Mrs. Takahashi: It's because we only took the decision last night and we weren't here to announce it. It was Dr. Rinaldi who invited us as guest speakers for the conventions.

Sara remembered his uncle mention these conventions a few weeks before. He never mentioned inviting the Takahashis though… unless it was to make her adapt better to her new life. _Thanks a lot zio! _The other good thing is that she won't even need to ask the Takahashis if Joyce could stay over. All she'd have to do is have her over. Sara was flying high.

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Kyouichi fans, don't kill me please. I don't think he's a freak like that. I just made him act like that for the sake of the story.

Thanks for review. and stay tunned


	13. School rumours

Chapter XII: School rumours

It has been one week since the Takahashis left Japan. Keisuke could breath a little more easy without his parents constantly being on his back and Ryosuke's routine didn't change much; wake up, go to school, work on Project D and study. Sara could slack off all she wanted to Ryosuke's great dismay. _I can't wait until she has exams so she can realise how much she needs to study. _On top of it, her friend would arrive in the afternoon.

Ryosuke was making some pancakes when Sara arrived into the kitchen singing her lungs out with a smile tattooed on her face.

Ryosuke: Someone's in a good mood!

Sara: Hey! I got my bed yesterday and my best friend is coming here for two weeks. Of course I'm in a good mood. Keisuke will pick her up. I hope he doesn't make her crap her pants on the way back. He drives quite recklessly.

Ryosuke: Look who's talking.

Sara: At least I drive smoothly.

Sara raised her eyebrow. _She does have a heck of an attitude and a potty mouth!_ Ryosuke's attraction for Sara grew stronger and deeper with every passing day. He was never able to stand hot airhead girls thinking of nothing else but their looks and gossiping like there's no tomorrow. Sara on the other hand was not shallow. She'd constantly make fun of his groupies in school. Once during lunch break, this girl named Rei asked him what he saw in Sara that she didn't have. Before he could even answer that him and Sara weren't a couple, Sara replied "everything and more my dear." He had to admit it was pretty funny. Rei was the ultimate Japanese Barbie girl that would no doubt take five hours in the morning to get ready. On top of it, Rei would only eat 3 pieces of sushi for lunch, or she'd get "fat". Sara would eat anything she could get her hands on. Ryosuke smiled thinking of how special she was. _I can't have a girlfriend now. I hope she'll still be around when I'm ready to have one. _He heard a mumble. It was Sara waking him up from his daydream.

Sara: Earth to Ryosuke! Take the food off the pan or it'll burn!

Ryosuke: Ah shit! I'm sorry; I was lost in my thoughts.

Sara: Man… studying the way you do will fry your brain.

Ryosuke: Have you had an exam yet?

Sara: My first one is today.

Ryosuke: Did you study?

Sara: heck no! You think I really have nothing better than that to do?

That was the one thing he couldn't stand about Sara: He didn't see her study once. He released an exasperated sigh as he gave Sara her two pancakes.

Ryosuke: How, may I ask, are you expecting to pass? Cheating?

Sara: No. Listen, I'm not lying when I say I literally never study and get above average grades. I listen in class, then I take notes and it's like my brain is taking photographs of what I'm writing. I review my notes for fifteen minutes before I got to bed and I'm set. Exams have never been a problem for me dear. You'll see my work my brains out if I have a research or a project to do though.

Ryosuke: Let's make a deal: if you get lower than 85, you'll study my way.

Sara: Deal.

Ryosuke sat down next to Sara with his food portion and they started eating. He saw how Sara was clearly exited about her best friend's arrival.

Ryosuke: How long have you known Joyce for?

Sara: About four years now. We met in college. We both were in theatre, acting to be more precise. We both got flunked. Twice.

Sara laughed at her own statement, then her eyes started to water up. He would have never expected someone as down to earth to actually consider studying something as useless as acting. In a way he was glad she didn't make it in that domain: he thought it'd be wasting her potential.

Ryosuke: Let me guess. You didn't memorize corny lines. If you learned texts the way you study, I'm not impressed.

Sara: No. I actually took that program really seriously. I though theatre would be everything for me. You see, the first time I did the program, my father passed away at the end of my second semester. Everything was going well until then. The teacher flunked me because he believed my father's death was too much for me to deal with. The second time around, the other teacher simply couldn't stand me. Theatre is not objective: it's subjective. In mathematics, two plus two equals to five, and that is that. In theatre, no matter how hard you try, if the teacher doesn't like you, you're screwed.

Ryosuke: Wow. I never thought of it that way. I thought all it requires is learning lines.

Sara: If only it was that easy. I also had a big mental block: my ex-boyfriend. He didn't approve of it. So when I got flunked again, I took a year off to work and clear my mind. As I said, to me theatre was everything. My boyfriend… sorry, my ex-boyfriend was going to study real estate, so I followed him.

Ryosuke saw her eyes water even more and a tear fell from each eye. Quickly, Sara wiped them off. Now Ryosuke was confused: was she upset about not making it in theatre, or was the thought of her ex-boyfriend make her sad?

Ryosuke: How come he's your ex-boyfriend now? Well, if it isn't to indiscrete to ask.

Sara: It's a long and painful story. I'll eventually tell you about it, one day, when I finally get over it all.

By her expression, it was the ex-boyfriend that was bothering her so much. _That guy is an idiot! Who could let go of a rare gem like Sara? If I ever meet him, I'll break both his legs._ Ryosuke then felt like an idiot for thinking that: it was none of his business and on top of it, he had no clue what could have possibly happen between the two of them. Since they had both finished eating, he picked up the plates, rinsed them and put them in the dishwasher.

Ryosuke: Let's go Sara-Chan.

The school day went by really fast Ryosuke: he had a complex biology lesson in the morning that required a high level of concentration; therefore he had no time to feel bored. It was finally lunchtime and Ryosuke and Sara met up at they're usual spot. They were eating and casually chatting when Rei came to the table with some papers in her possession. _Not this idiot again._

Rei: Hi Ryosuke-Chan, how are you. Hi Puzzo. I'm here with a petition signed by eighty-two people asking you guys to split up. The signers don't think you're a cute enough couple and it's all because of Puzzo.

Sara: Are you freaking kidding me? Don't you airheads have anything better to do with your time like homework? Hello? You're in university.

Rei: It's a question of image. Ryosuke-Chan is so perfect and you're just messing up his whole image Puzzo. No offence.

_If she says one more thing about Sara, I'm going to break that little whinny imbecile in half. Who does she think she is? How the heck did this idiot make it to university?_ Ryosuke looked as Sara asked Rei for the petition to look at them. Once Rei handed them over to her, Sara shred the pages into little four pieces of papers and then putting the pieces into her recycling folder.

Sara: Rei-Chan, go get yourself a manicure or something. Man! You're so annoying!

Rei: Well, Ryosuke-Chan deserves much better than a girl like you.

_That does it. I'll probably regret this forever._

Ryosuke: Rei-Chan, stop it. I understand you're jealous of Sara-Chan because we live together, but get over it. There are many young men in this school that would kill to go out with you. I wish you good luck. Don't ever bother us again.

It worked: Rei left with tears in her eyes. She was probably already telling the eighty-two people that signed that nothing could be done. Ryosuke then turned to his main concern. Sara looked startled.

Sara: What did you just tell Rei?

Ryosuke: That we live together. I didn't technically lie. I just forgot to specify details. Whatever. The airhead won't be bothering us anymore. At least I hope

Ryosuke felt himself blush as he spoke this last sentence. Then he looked at the smile developing onto Sara's pretty face. Then, the smile turned into laughter. Ryosuke did the same, but more quietly. He never used to laugh this much before he met her. She made him happy.

Ryosuke glanced at his watch and saw it was time to go back to class for him. He knew that Sara would go back in class only an hour for her first big test.

Ryosuke: Good luck in your exam.

Sara: You're supposed to say: "break a pencil". Besides, I'm more worried about the eighty-two groupies seeking revenge.

_She can't be serious for more than a minute when it comes to school._ During his whole chemistry class, he could only think of her. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate on what was being taught, his mind would just slip and he'd think of her again. He was so glad when class was finally dismissed. He walked to the rendezvous point and once he got there, he saw Sara casually reading the school's paper and giggling.

Ryosuke: What's so funny?

Sara: Look! Rei had put and add in the school paper for the petition. Can you believe she actually spent time and energy doing something so retarded?

Ryosuke: That's plain pathetic. Oh yes! How did your test go?

Sara: It was so easy I couldn't believe it. I was the first one to finish and some people were crying. I will get over 85!

Ryosuke: I hope for you that you will. Let's head home. You're friend is waiting for you.

As he spoke that sentence, he saw her eyes glitter of joy. He wondered what kind of person Joyce was. He was to find out soon enough.

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Joyce was supposed to come in this chapter, but it'd be way too long. Thanks for reading and leaving feedback. stay tuned


	14. Shaky reunion

Chapter XIII: Shaky reunion

Sara was so exited to get back home that she felt like she was crawling out of her own skin. _Joyce and I have a lot of catching up to do! _She then turned to Ryosuke: he was driving the speed limit, as he usually did when he wasn't racing or practicing. The fact that he was driving quite slowly didn't help Sara's excitement at all: it just made her fidget ten times more than usual. She could not conceive how someone like Ryosuke was able to drive so slowly every day during daytime and not turn completely insane. She remembered the night she passed Keisuke on Akagi and how slowly she drove back home; she nearly fell asleep. _Props to you Ryosuke-Chan. I wish I could be half as patient as you are._

Ryosuke's FC finally parked on his driveway. Almost as soon as the car stopped moving, Sara jumped out of the car and started running towards the door, keys in hands. She was finally going to see her best friend. As she opened the door, she saw Keisuke with his index finger over his mouth, signalling Sara to remain silent.

Keisuke: Shhh! I know how exited you must feel, but your friend is exhausted from the trip. Let her sleep a little.

Sara nodded. She understood how tired Joyce must have been. A Canada-Japan trip is very, very long. She still was disappointed for she wanted to see her right away. Ryosuke finally walked in with his school bag on one shoulder, and Sara's on the other. Sara giggled when she saw that Ryosuke was carrying her bag. She had completely forgot about her stuff.

Sara: I'm sorry that you had to carry my stuff. Thanks for doing it. Had it been for me, it would have probably stayed in the car until tomorrow morning.

Ryosuke: Sara-Chan, you should care more bout your schooling. It frustrated me to see how little you care about your studies. I understand how happy you are now that your friend got here, and I don't care if you never study and still manage to have a high average. Imagine how well you'd do if you actually studied for over fifteen minutes.

Joyce: Don't bother. What you just told her went right through her head.

Sara: Joyce! In my arms, partner! Ryosuke, this is my friend Joyce.

Nobody had noticed Joyce coming down the stairs. Joyce was this rather good-looking redhead with dark eyes and fair skin. Many people thought she was Irish, but were completely wrong for she was Greek. Sara was so glad to finally hug her friend. As Joyce predicted, what Ryosuke had told Sara completely disappeared from Sara's mind. All she wanted to do was hanging out with Joyce. She grabbed her best friend's arm and walked her to the living room, where they sat down. In the meantime, Keisuke went to the kitchen to fix himself something to eat and Ryosuke headed for his room for yet another studying session.

Sara: So, how everything? What's new in Montreal?

Joyce: A lot has changed since you left. Well, since you and Alex broke up. Him and Matt stopped talking to each other. Matt can't stand what Alex became.

Sara: I cause nothing but misery to everyone.

Joyce: Oh stop it! You have nothing to do with anything. You just did what you had and wanted to do. Nobody could have predicted that your stupid ex-boyfriend would be such a lunatic about it.

Sara: How is he?

Joyce: Alex? He's all right, I guess. I hate to be the one bearing the news, but the reason why Matt doesn't talk to him anymore is that he got himself a new girlfriend.

Those words had the same effect as a well-aimed punch. She couldn't believe how quickly she got replaced. As she managed to slightly move her lips, some tears appeared in her eyes. She looked down and started sobbing quietly._ It serves me right. Poor Alex, the pain I'm feeling now is probably nothing compared to what he felt because of me._ She felt shaken by her friend.

Joyce: Stop self-pitying yourself. Alex was nothing but a coward who didn't deserve you. Matt completely agrees that he only went out with you because of your looks. He…

Sara: Shut up! You're lying!

Keisuke: What's going on here?

Both the girls turned to look at the youngest rotary brother. He looked at Sara's face.

Keisuke: Sara-Chan, what's wrong?

Sara: Nothing.

Joyce: She can't get over her ex-boyfriend. That bastard destroyed all of her self-confidence and her dreams.

Sara: Joyce… don't say that. It was my fault.

Joyce: Be rational. You've done nothing wrong

Sara seemed to be going insane. She felt her sanity being drawn away from her. She was angry with herself for not being able to control herself. She could see Joyce and Keisuke trying to speak to her, but she couldn't hear them anymore. All she could hear were the last words Alex said to her: "What kind of a girlfriend humiliates her man like that? You were supposed to love me. I despise you and I don't ever want to see your venomous face again." She got up and grabbed her car keys. Keisuke and Joyce were looking at her walking through the door.

Sara: I'm going for drive.

The words she had just mumbled were almost inaudible. Ryosuke came out of his room, hearing the "conversation" that had just occurred.

Keisuke: Sara! Wait.

Ryosuke: What's going on?

Keisuke: Sara-Chan…

Joyce interrupted Keisuke. In the background you could her Sara's car leaving the driveway almost full throttle.

Joyce: Leave her. It'll do her good. She has a demon from her past that she must face. I think you guys could really help her.

Ryosuke: I noticed that something was bothering her, but every time I tried to bring up the subject, she really closes up.

Keisuke: She is very mysterious. What between her and her ex?

Joyce: She'll want to slaughter me once she comes back, but I'll tell you the whole story. In exchange, I'd like it if you guys could help her.

Ryosuke: So what happened to her in her past?

The three young people sat down on the couch and Joyce started telling them about Montreal's legendary "Bullet".

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I had quite a busy week. Tomorrow I'm starting school again, but I'll still try to update as often as I can. thanks for reading, and leaving feedback.


	15. The Past

Chapter XIV : The Past

Sara was climbing Mt.Akagi at an irrational speed. Tears were falling from her eyes. Her limbs were shaking and her control of the car wasn't as smooth as usual. She felt miserable, betrayed and she was almost suicidal. Her break up scene and the memories from Montreal were playing in her head. She also knew what Joyce was up to: she was ready to bet she was telling the Rotary brothers about her past…her "legend". She smirked at that thought. She didn't think of herself as a legend, she never had that high of pretence. She felt like getting violently drunk all of a sudden. She turned her car around and drove to a store where she bought a twelve pack of Sapporo and then headed back to the top of Akagi.

Akagi was Sara's favourite mountain out of all the ones she went to in Japan. Myogi was too boring; Usui was a little better but too crowded all the time. Akina was kind of cool and Irohasaka wasn't half bad either, but after being freaked out by "The Bandana psychopath", it became a big no no… Akagi was perfect to relax. Once she got to the top, Sara noticed a black FD parked on the side of the road, and she looked around to see who was there. She noticed a pretty young woman leaning on the guardrail looking down. _Phew… It's just a girl. No danger!_ She parked her car right behind the FD and opened the door of her gc8v, being careful not to shake up the beers too much. _I wonder if she's waiting for someone. Maybe I should go sit with her. _She noticed that her body language and the way she was leaning suggested that she was sad. The girl then turned around and looked at Sara with a puzzled face.

Sara Good evening.

Girl: Hi

Sara: I don't recognise your car, which is very nice by the way… you're not from around here, right?

Girl: No, as a matter a fact, I'm from another prefecture: Saitama. Thanks for the compliment about my baby. You're car is nice too.

The girl and Sara smiled to each other, probably feeling each other's pain.

Sara: Saitama… wow, what brings you here anyway.

Girl: You don't want to know… you'll think I'm pathetic.

Sara: it's because of a boy right?

Girl: How did you guess?

Sara: Because we're both in the pathetic league. Would you like a beer?

Girl: Sure, if you offer.

Sara: Oh… I haven't even introduced myself yet, how impolite. Puzzo Sara!

Girl: Iwase Kyoko. That's again for the beer.

Sara: So, what's you "pathetic" story?

Kyoko: See, I'm a street racer that never liked anyone but this one guy, whom I had to race and… well, he's not interested. He lives around here, in Akagi… My darling rotary prince… What's yours?

Sara: It's rather long and complicated…

Kyoko: Shoot! It's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon.

Sara took a deep breath and a mega gulp of beer. She closed her eyes and set herself back six months earlier.

Sara started racing at the tender age of seventeen in her brother's old 1985 Mercury Capri. She wasn't racing people, she just did time attacks. She loved the way she felt when she drifted. She loved the Capri very dearly until on day, she let her colleague drive it and that douche bag crashed it. She never punched someone that hard in her life. She was almost nineteen by that time and was already dating Alex. She worked hard and bought herself a 2.5 RS imprezza and had Matt changing the engine and the suspension and also had him install the skirt kit she chose. The base model car Sara had originally bought became a finely tuned WRX sti. She had tints installed too.

She resumed doing her time attacks until some "punks" tried to catch up to her and greatly failed. Due to the tints, people could not see who drove it. They just knew the car and named it "the Bullet" due to its colour. Sara told Joyce about the racing and Joyce nearly fell off her chair when Sara made that confession to her. Joyce then had the idea of making a web site where people could challenge Sara under the condition that you had to defeat the bullet in order to see the driver. The only people who knew about the Bullet's identity were Joyce and Matt. Even Alex didn't know his own girlfriend's position.

Alex was a street racer as well. He drove a white DC2. He was very good and undefeated. He was extremely cocky, even arrogant when it came to his driving skills. What amused Sara the most was when he'd say "Sara, one day I'll defeat the bullet and I'll be the first man to see that loser's face". Every time he made that comment, she'd giggle.

Sara interrupted her story telling and looked at Kyoko.

Sara: I hope I'm not boring you to death Kyoko-Chan. Want another beer?

Kyoko: I'm not bored at all and I'll gladly have the third beer.

Both the girls were getting a little tipsy. After opening the bottles, Sara resumed to the heartbreaking part of the story

**FLASHBACK**

Montreal, March 30th. Sara is sleeping sound when her cell phone wakes her up. She grabs the phone and checks the time and the name of the person who's calling her. _For crying out loud! It's freaking 5:30 in the morning. What does he want?_

Sara: Alex this better be important

Alex: Good morning to you too sweetie! I'm sorry, but I couldn't stay still and keep the news from you anymore.

Sara: What? You won the lottery? Buy me a lambo!

Alex: I wish! Sara… brace yourself…guess what I've done.

Sara: I don't know… you were finally able to cook yourself an over-easy egg?

Alex: Haha… No way that's way too hard

Sara: you're sad man… okay, I give up. What's the big news?

Alex: I challenged him… I finally challenged him!

Sara: Who?

Alex: That stupid Bullet dude!

Sara was totally speechless. She had trouble understanding what her boyfriend had just told her. Well, she knew exactly what he was saying, but she didn't know what to say. She was under shock. For a few seconds, her senses has stopped working and she completely forgot what was going on until she heard some noise and remembered who she was on the phone with.

Alex: Sara? Sweetie-pie, are you alright?

Sara: Yeah, that's terrific news… it's just that my brain is still sleeping so call me later, okay?

Alex: No problem. I love you Sara.

Sara: I love you too.

As soon as the conversation was cut, Sara's phone rang again. This time, it was her "Manager"

Sara: Good early morning Joyce

Joyce: Wow! You sound more awake that usual and it's so early. What happened? You fell off the bed?

Sara: Yep. Alex called me and woke me up about 1 minute before you called.

Joyce: Oh, so you know.

Sara: Yep… Oh my gosh! What are we going to do?

Joyce: I say keep the same structure as usual. Just because you'll be racing your boyfriend, it doesn't mean anything has to change. If you win, no face if you lose, everyone gets to know you're a girl and that you've kicked so many asses, it's not even funny. Besides, I'm sure you'll still win and I'm sure if Alex ever finds out about you, he'll be ecstatic to see how good his girlfriend is.

Sara: You're right. Hey! I have an idea. I'll show him who I am even if I still win.

Joyce: That's a great plan. Anyhow, you guys will race next Saturday night at eleven at night on Mt. Royal. Get loads of practice.

Sara: Thanks Joyce. Good night again.

Saturday came so fast. For the first time in ages, Sara felt nauseous she was stressed out. She got to the top of Mt. Royal and stopped her car right next to her boyfriend's DC2. A random Chinese girl did the count down and then both cars took off. Mt. Royal was a very narrow course and it required a lot of focus to be able to go down it at 180 KPH and taking turns at 95 KPH like Sara managed to do. She soon left her boyfriend in the dust. She won that race. Instead of taking off immediately, as does normally, she stopped her car right at the finish line and waited for her boyfriend to get there and get out of his car. Then, she opened the door and poked her head out of the car. A smile was tattooed on her face and she saw Alex' jaw drop.

Sara: How did I do babe?

Alex: You? It was you?

Sara: Yes, indeed.

Alex: It was you. Oh my goodness. You bitch.

Sara: What?

Sara's blood froze when she heard her Alex calling her a bitch. He looked incredibly mad. She was scared and she wasn't feeling so good about the victory anymore.

Alex: I can't believe you did this to me. You lied for three years.

Sara: That's not fair… you told me you didn't approve of girls that race… so I … I'm sorry, I should have told you babe.

Alex: No! Don't call me that. I hate you.

Sara: What

Alex turned around as Sara remained there, like frozen staring at him with tears forming in her eyes. Joyce was looking at the whole scene and it took more than will power to prevent her from hitting Alex. Matt was holding her into place. After a few minutes of complete silence, Alex turned around and looked at Sara straight in the eyes with the most terrifying look anyone could ever imagine,

Sara: Alex, I…

Alex: Shut up!

Sara: But I….

Alex: I said shut that freaking mouth of yours! You've disrespected me enough.

Sara's tears started to run down her cheeks and she tried say "Alex", but nothing but a nearly inaudible sound came out of her mouth. Alex walked back to his car and opened the door. He turned to Sara again and said that famous sentence that still haunts her everyday since.

Alex: What kind of a girlfriend humiliates her man like that? You were supposed to love me. I despise you and I don't ever want to see your venomous face again.

Sara was done narrating her story to Kyoko. Her cheeks had tear traces on them and the twelve pack only had to remaining beers inside.

Kyoko: Holly cow! Now that beats my story hands down.

Sara: He was right though. I'll never race again.

Kyoko: Don't say that! Do you hear what I hear?

Sara paid close attention to the sounds. She heard the clear and distinctive sounds of the rotary brother car. They parked by the road and Keisuke, Ryosuke and Joyce hurried to go see the two drunken girls.

To be continued

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Sorry to be posting only now. I've been busy and burned out. (Thank you school and work) I'm glad to finally get this chapter off my chest. Enjoy. R & R as usual. Thanks for reading.

TH BUNNY!


	16. Where the heck is she

Chapter XV: Where the heck is she?

Once Sara left, Ryosuke made some tea for Joyce, Keisuke and himself. He was anxious to learn more about the mysterious girl that had been on his mind for the past few weeks. As he was waiting for the water to boil, he was trying to imagine who she really was. He had a feeling in his gut that she was a topnotch street racer. He couldn't help but to think about the night she came out with the project d crew and the way she was tearing the hairpins of Mt. Akagi. Her precision, her rhythm, and her control… everything was perfect. There was no doubt in his mind anymore: she was a street racer. _Why are you denying your talent? _

Ryosuke was startled for a few seconds when the kettle started to whistle. He poured the hot water into a teapot where he had previously put oolong tea. He delicately put three small cups onto the tray, added the teapot and made his way to the living room where his little brother and Joyce were patently waiting for him.

He listened to what Joyce had to say. He learned that Sara was known as the "bullet" and that she was a legend back in Montreal. He was told all about the way her relationship was ended. He could imagine how Sara felt after the break up. He felt her pain and he could see everything more clearly. He now understood why Sara felt threatened when he was questioning her. He knew. He could see how she feared rejection. Sara probably thought that if Keisuke and him found out about her talent, they would want to cease all contact with her.

Ryosuke felt anger, no. He actually felt rage. If that stupid Alex could have stood in front of him, he would have unleashed a series of punches and well aimed kicks. _A coward like that can't be considered a real man._ He was furious that instead of embracing Sara's talent, he put her down and punished her for it. Instead of being proud of having a girlfriend that worked hard to reach such a high level, a level higher than his own, he stomped all over her. In his opinion, a real man would have looked at it from a positive angle. A real man would have thought, "So she beat me? So what! I'll practice hard and next time I'll be the winner." That's what he would have thought at least.

Ryosuke glanced at his brother and saw the same rage burning in his eyes. Even though his brother and him were so different, the held two things in common. The first thing was their strong set of morals. The story they heard went completely against the sense of fairness and pride that held so dear. The second thing was racing, of course. He then looked over to Joyce. The poor girl had tears in her eyes. Her tears refused to fall, but they could not hide the deep disgust that laid her eyes. Ryosuke then realised that the three of them had been keeping silent for the past few minutes.

Keisuke was the first one to break the silence.

Keisuke: That guy is such an asshole! I can't believe he could do that.

Joyce: That night, I was ready to kill him. If my boyfriend wouldn't have kept me back, I swear I would have given him a beating. I never liked him. I got bad vibes from him yet Sara looked so happy with him and he seemed to be taking such good care of her.

Ryosuke: Why did she keep her identity secret? And why did she tell you, out of all the people?

Joyce: To answer your first question, she was scared of a few things: she thought Alex wouldn't allow it because he has a very closed mind. Even though there are many female street racers that have challenged him, he never accepted to race one because to him, a woman should not be taking risks like that. If you ask me, he was just to dam scared to lose to one though. Also, to her it didn't matter whom she raced for her philosophy had always been "your enemy is the course, not your opponent" so that if people saw her face or not shouldn't change a thing. Secondly, she chose to tell me because I was her only friend. Sure, she befriend Alex' friends, but I was her only friend at the time she told me about it. Sara has always been a bit of an antisocial person because of her bizarre persona. Not many people actually appreciate Sara's personality, like Alex by means of example. He never really understood her sarcasm and her sense of humour. He would often keep her from speaking freely in front of his friends. That's another reason why I didn't like him at all.

Keisuke: What a disgusting human being. Poor Sara, I feel bad for her.

Ryosuke: How long do you think she'll be gone for?

Joyce: I'd say an hour, two at the max. Let's see… it's seven o'clock right now. I'd say she'll be back around eight thirty or nine o'clock.

Ryosuke: In that case, I'll go back to my schoolbooks.

Keisuke: How can you think of reading your stupid biology book in a moment like this?

Ryosuke: Keisuke, there's simply nothing for us to do but to wait for her to come back. Let the poor girl relax and get back to her senses. Once she comes back home all calmed down, we'll be able to speak with her and we'll then figure out how we can help her. In the meantime, I'd rather do something constructive rather than just wait for two hours.

Joyce: He's absolutely right. Hey! I know, how about the two of us make supper while Ryosuke studies?

Keisuke: I guess… alright, let's do it!

As his brother and Joyce were deciding what to cook, Ryosuke retreated to his bedroom where he opened his biology book and looked at it. He couldn't concentrate. He could see the book, see the letters and see the diagrams, but nothing made the slightest sense to him. All he could think about was Sara. His Sara. He tried to fight off those feelings he had for her. He tried to ignore what his heart was screaming to him, but all his efforts were vain. That's what he had just figured out. He was drawn to Sara because of her looks the first time he met her. Then, the desire to pierce her mystery was what attracted him the most. As he started to know her better, he was charmed by her personality. He liked her, no; he loved her the way she was.

Before he knew it, it was eight o'clock and Keisuke poked his head in his brother's room to tell him that diner was served. The three young people ate, mostly in silence. Ryosuke missed Sara's presence. He was even thinking of hugging her once she'd come back home. He wanted to kiss her and tell her that everything would be alright.

Before he could realise, the three of them had finished dinner and Joyce was clearing the table. Ryosuke glanced at his watch. It was nine o'clock. _She'll be here in a moment._ But she wasn't. For the first time in years, he sat down in the living room and turned on the television. Next thing he knows, it's ten o'clock.

Ryosuke was getting more and more worried. By the looks on Keisuke and Joyce's faces, they too were worried. The three of them watched some more television. Time was going by incredibly slowly. Ryosuke took another look at the time. It was almost eleven o'clock when he spoke.

Ryosuke: I can't take this anymore. Where the heck could she be?

Keisuke: I haven't got a clue, but I say that if she isn't home by eleven, we go out and we find her.

Joyce: I completely agree.

Ryosuke: I asked you guys where she could be. Of course we're all going to look for her.

Joyce: As I know Sara, she's most probably on a mountaintop. Do you guys know which mountain she prefers?

Ryosuke: I don't know

Keisuke: I don't know either, but I say we start by checking Akina, since it's the closest one.

Ryosuke: Great idea. Keisuke, take Joyce in the car with you, I'll go with mine.

Keisuke: Hai!

He drove as fast as he could. Ryosuke was worried sick. He was scared Sara would have done something dumb. He was shaking as he started to climb his mountain and he was praying very hard for Sara to be on top. As he reached the top, he let out a sigh of relief. He saw two cars parked, and one of them was Sara's. As he parked is car, his brother had just made it to the top and as he started running towards two feminine shadows near the guard rail, Keisuke and Joyce were getting out of the yellow Rx-7.

Ryosuke then stopped running abruptly as he took a look at Sara. He looked at the second person and recognised Iwase Kyoko, the young "groupie" that was obsessed by his little brother.

Sara: Ryosuke? Joyce? Keisuke? What are you guys doing here?

Joyce: Great lord, Sara! You are so drunk!

Sara: Wow! You figured that out on your own? You're good Joyce! Wow… I am so impolite. Joyce, Keisuke, Ryosuke, this is my new friend …

Keisuke: Iwase Kyoko. Yeah, we know her… well at least my brother and I do.

Ryosuke looked at Kyoko: she looked as though she'd seen a spectre. He could see she was also drunk and then looked down and saw the twelve pack of Sapporo with ten beers missing.

Ryosuke: Sara, do you have the slightest idea of what time it is right now?

Sara: Time for another beer?

Before Ryosuke could even reply, Sara had taken the two beers and offered one to Kyoko. Then he assisted as both girls opened their can and chugged it to the last drop.

Ryosuke: Do you know how much over drinking like that is bad for your health?

Sara: Just as bad as smoking, breathing polluted air and getting high as a kite. Speaking of smoking, Keisuke, can I have a smoke please?

Joyce: Hey! Didn't you quit?

Sara: Yeah, I did. To make Alex happy, but where is he now? Probably making out with his new girlfriend.

Joyce: By the way guys, this is how loud and obnoxious she gets when she drinks. I had doped she was through that stage, but she apparently isn't.

Ryosuke watched his brother giving a cigarette to Sara, and then Sara lighting it. He wanted to slap his brother for giving Sara that cigarette. _You hypocrite! You smoked for years too._

Ryosuke: Sara, we thought something bad had happened to you. After your cigarette, we're going back home. And Kyoko will come with us too. She isn't in any shape to drive either.

Sara: That doesn't work. We can't leave Kyoko's car here. Joyce will take it back home. I can drive no problem.

Keisuke: You aren't driving anything. You're having difficulty speaking right now, there's no way in hell you're getting near a steering wheel tonight.

Ryosuke: I agree with Keisuke. You are not driving.

Sara: Then I'll stay here until morning.

Joyce: Sara, please don't be this stubborn!

Roysuke couldn't believe how stubborn Sara was being. He knew he had to find a way to get everyone and all the cars to his house. Then, he had a brilliant idea. He took out his cell phone and called up Matsumoto. He told him to meet him at the top of the mountain. He closed his phone.

Ryosuke: Everything works out. Matsumoto and Kenta will be here in about ten minutes. Kenta will bring Kyoko's FD to our house.

Kyoko: That means I get to sleep over?

Keisuke: Yes indeed. But I'm warning you that the only person I allow in my bed is Sara, we have done it once and it was terrific.

Ryosuke slapped is forehead and Sara started to laugh very loudly as Kyoko's face became pale all of a sudden.

Kyoko: What? You slept with Keisuke?

Sara: It wasn't on purpose. Keisuke let me sleep in his bed and he went to sleep in my room, but in the middle of the night, he went to the bathroom while he wasn't totally awake, and he came back in his bed, where I was sleeping and in the morning, Ryosuke gave us a speech about birth control. Trust me, it was hilarious. But now, I'll make things even.

Kyoko: What do you mean?

Sara: Keisuke can keep on dreaming. You see, all our beds are taken, and since I won't have you sleep on the couch, I'll sacrifice myself and sleep with Ryosuke, so that, you know, he doesn't get too jealous. Unless of course our bleached Casanova changes his mind about you Kyoko.

Ryosuke blushed, but couldn't help but feel really happy inside. He took a look at his little brother who was just as red as him in the face. Ryosuke then looked at the three girls: the two drunken ones and the sober one and saw that the three of them were laughing to tears. He then heard the sound of the familiar S14. After arranging for Joyce to drive back Sara's GC8V and Kenta to drive Kyoko's FD, Ryosuke looked around himself and asked everyone if they were ready to leave.

As Sara was getting into the passenger's side of her car, she stopped, got out and closed the door. She ran towards the white FC.

Sara: Hey Ryosuke! Hold on! Since we're sleeping together, may as well ride back home together, no?

Ryosuke nodded and blushed. He was looking forward to the night he was going to spend with Sara. As they were about leave, he looked over to Sara: she was looking at his hands on the shifter and then she lifted her head to make eye contact with him.

Sara: Ryosuke? Could you go downhill full throttle for me? I've been dying to see you drive seriously.

Ryosuke: I don't want you to be sick, you know.

Sara: I am apt to drive. I promise I wont puke.

Ryosuke nodded. _This is the best way to encourage her to start racing again._


End file.
